Monday, October 8, 2012

Poll: Swing State Latino Voters Support Clean Energy

Latino voters in four swing states -- Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and Virginia
-- decisively favor candidates for president and the U.S. Senate who
support clean air and clean energy policies over candidates who don't,
according to four new state-specific surveys covering a total of 1,515
Latino respondents.

Conducted for the NRDC Action Fund, the four Public Policy Polling
(PPP) polls of these key voters who could sway the overall Presidential
election found:

Nevada. Latino voters in Nevada side with President Barack Obama's
position as a candidate who "supports EPA standards to reduce dangerous
carbon pollution" over the position of Republican challenger Mitt Romney,
presented as a candidate who "says that these limits would be bad for
business and EPA should not limit carbon pollution," by a more than
three-to-one margin (73 percent versus 21 percent).

New Mexico. By a margin of 61 percent to 28 percent, Latino voters in New Mexico
support a presidential candidate who backs "standards to reduce toxic
mercury pollution from power plants" over one who opposes them.

Virginia. By a more than two-to-one margin, Latino voters in Virginia support (61-29 percent) a presidential candidate who favors higher fuel efficiency standards for vehicles.

(Latino voters in the four states were asked about their views on a
full range of issues; the results highlighted above are intended to
demonstrate the range of responses across the four key 2012 election
battleground states. For the full state-by-state survey results, go to http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/latinovoters.)

Latino voters favor President Obama in Nevada (71-21 percent); New Mexico (58-26 percent and Virginia (57-42 percent). In Florida, the results were tied at 47-47. The balance of Latino voters in each were undecided.)

"Romney's
energy plan is nothing short of disastrous for our country and
especially for Latinos," said Adrianna Quintero of NRDC Action Fund. "His proposals steamroll over health protections,
rolling back life-saving standards that reduce mercury in our air and
water, and cut down on harmful pollution that causes global warming.
Romney's plan to
reverse landmark fuel efficiency standards would force
us all to pay more at the pump hurting families that are already struggling."

All four of the battleground states covered in the poll also have hotly contested Senate races:

Nevada. By a large margin of 71 percent to 18 percent, Latino voters in Nevada
support a congressional candidate who backs "standards to reduce toxic
mercury pollution from power plants" over one who opposes them.

New Mexico. Latino voters in New Mexico
side with a congressional candidate who "supports EPA standards to
reduce dangerous carbon pollution" over a candidate who "says that these
limits would be bad for business and EPA should not limit carbon
pollution," by a more than two-to-one margin (66 percent versus 25
percent).

Florida. Latino voters in Florida solidly
support (52-42 percent) a congressional candidate who thinks "the
federal government should invest in clean energy technologies such as
wind and solar power" over a candidate who favors more drilling.

Virginia. By a more than three-to-one margin, Latino voters in Virginia
back (70-20 percent) a congressional candidate who "supports extending
tax incentives for wind power, [over] one who opposes them."

The NRDC Action Fund's mission is to achieve the passage of
legislation that jump-starts the clean energy economy, reduces
pollution, and sustains vibrant communities for all Americans. Now is
the time for leadership and action from our elected officials — our
current goal is a comprehensive clean energy policy that will repower
our economy and fuel our future. http://www.nrdcactionfund.org.

The NRDC Action Fund is an affiliated but separate organization
from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). As a 501(c)(4)
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